


Divine Rebellion | Vergil x F! Reader

by crestedhearts (orphan_account)



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: F/M, Sin Devil Trigger (Devil May Cry)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-06
Updated: 2020-05-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:01:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23035924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/crestedhearts
Summary: [UPDATES EVERY FRIDAY]❝Folly loves the martyrdom of fame.❞✷In which [Name] [Surname] is confronted by Nero's birth father with a horrifying truth─that as Nero's adoptive mother, his devil side has recognized her as its other half and as such, wishes to claim her as its own.Unfortunately for Vergil, there's one giant cinch in that plan: Nero himself.
Relationships: Vergil (Devil May Cry)/Reader
Comments: 27
Kudos: 179





	1. INTRO: THE MOTHER

"Mornin', Ms. Nero! Whew, you look like you just got hit by a big ol' truck! Er... Sorry, Nero keeps tellin' me to shut my mouth 'bout it. Didn't mean nothin' by it─"

A soft, weak, yet amused voice interrupted,"Nico, it's alright. Nero should know by now that I enjoy your particular brand of crudeness."

[Name] [Surname]─Ms. Nero to Nico, Ms. [Name] to some, or just plain [Name]─laid in her hospital bed with the grace of a cat. She reclined back upon the bed in half a stretch, her arms raised above her head in an attempt to pop her hands out of the handcuffs that kept her chained to the bed and, effectively, to her IV. She rattled the small length of chain between her wrists, working one of her thumbs out of the metal with a sickening pop.

Just as Nico sat down in the chair opposite her bed, the sound of a joint being dislocated echoed throughout the small sterile room. [Name] met her slightly horrified gaze with her own, offering her a tiny smile in reply as she finished working the rest of her hand out of the cuff.

"Oh that was gross... And kinda cool, now that I think about it, but─how in the hell did you manage to get handcuffed to your bed, Ms. [Name]? I'm sure Kyrie only left you for a day while we were gone─"

[Name] tossed the handcuffs aside with a huff. She then shoved her arm in front of Nico's face to reveal the red, throbbing skin of her arm and the giant red and purple bruise that was starting to run all the way from her IV to her shoulder and hand. If that wasn't painful enough, hives had started breaking out upon her skin, raised and painful.

"Because of this," [Name] replied sullenly. "It always happens when I'm given medicine of any kind. Right now I'm on a pretty hefty dose of morphine, but I don't know if it's doing more harm than good at this point."

Nico cringed backwards. "Yikes. You don't need anything for it? Looks awful."

"No," [Name] said as casually as possible. "Say, Nico, where is Nero? I thought you said the job was finished and that he was coming home. That was a month ago."

"Uh..." Nico stared at her, open mouthed for a moment, and then looked away in slight shame. "Well, there was a little problem... with uh... DanteandVergilkindofneededhelpbustingoutofhellsoNerowenttodoit."

Hopeful, the gunsmith looked up, praying that the woman hadn't heard what she said, but judging by the insanely pissed off expression that was crawling over her face with enough anger to make Nico shake in her chair, she wasn't that lucky.

"I'm sorry?" [Name] blinked widely. "You didn't just say that Dante─the man who kicks my son's ass from dusk till dawn because it's fun─needed help getting out of hell, did you? Because I thought I told Nero─rrgh, why do none of you tell me anything?!"

Nero's specific words had been,"Don't tell my mom, because she needs some rest, and she'll gut me like a fish if she knew what I was doing," but Nico was not going to tell the increasingly pissed off lady that bit of information. It would likely just make her angrier.

For the brief moment Nico had been lost in thought, [Name] had already been pulling out her IV and unclipping her heart monitor. She rolled out of the bed and onto her feet, making a morphine fueled march to the door. Nico gawked as the paper gown she wore flew open, exposing the entirety of her back and behind, and darted after her, yanking it closed with a blush creeping up her neck.

"Ms. [Name], as much as I love you, and I know you do, I don't think the entire hospital wants to see your lady bits!"

"Sure they do, they practically beg for it!" Nico was sure that was meant to be coy, but it came out angry and enraged. She didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or both.

"What would Nero say if you neglected your health?"

"My health can go to hell! As soon as I get my hands on Dante Sparda's white, hairy a─"

"Ms. [Name], no!" Nico cried. The paper gown flew off in a plasticky crinkling sound, exposing her entire body for the world to see. She saw one CNA drop the files he was carrying and stare unabashedly at her, but it wasn't lust like Nico had been expecting─it was disgust.

[Name] had gone unusually still in her grip. Almost instantly, her hands flew to cover something on her stomach, but Nico couldn't tell what it was from behind her. The sudden fear and shame she felt was almost physically cloying; she backed into Nico, almost tripping over her completely, and retreated back into her room as fast as a rabbit.

"I'm sorry," Nico said to the CNA. She picked up the paper gown and entered the room again, only to find [Name] curled up in her tiny bathroom, knees pulled up to cover her belly. "Ms. [Name]..? You alright there ma'am?"

She didn't say a word.

"Er..." The gunsmith stood awkwardly in the doorway, then fished around in the closet for a fresh gown. "Let's get you somethin' clean, yeah? I don't think you'd want a dirty one that's been on the ground..."

Nico held out the paper gown. [Name] got to her feet unsteadily, arms shooting out to keep her balance, and Nico saw it; only for a brief moment, but it was there, red and bright and angry. It was puckered up and full of fever, a scar almost the span of her arm that looked like it would have bisected her completely in half. Veins, black and varicose, pulsed in time with her heartbeat.

When she secured the ties to the gown in the back, Nico asked, softly,"Ms. [Name], your stomach..."

"Nero didn't tell you?" [Name] got back into her bed without a complaint. "I have these weird... blackouts sometimes. Sometimes I wake up with unexplained bruises or cuts or scrapes... But this time, I woke up one morning, and this was there. It wasn't as pretty as it was then, I assure you; there was blood everywhere. On the bed, on the walls, down the hall... Morrison said it looked like a scene out of a horror movie."

Nico plopped down into her seat with a frown. "How come you... You don't have any idea what's been happenin' to ya?"

"No," [Name] shook her head and pulled the scratchy blankets up to her shoulders. "I get little pieces, but never enough to tell what happened... Nico, can you hand me that cup of water? Thank you."

"No problem."

"But this thing... nothing. I can't even remember the days leading up to it."

"Morphine's a pretty strong drug," Nico joked halfheartedly.

"I suppose..."

"Have you told Nero?"

"He knows... he just doesn't know about this in particular."

"Ms. [Name]!"

"I know, I know. But he was on a mission. Still is, actually. Kyrie thinks I'm in here for a B12 deficiency."

"Ms. [Name], you can't do that," Nico protested. She gently shook the woman's shoulders to demonstrate her frustration. "Nero worries about you, y'know? Not telling him will just make it worse."

"I was waiting until he got back," she admitted,"but that's taking longer than I thought it would..."

Nico watched in shock as she fell asleep right in the middle of her sentence. A few minutes later and she was snoring, away in her own world, and mumbling incoherently.

Taking her chance, the gunsmith turned out the lights and closed the door quietly.

She had a phone call to make.


	2. I : NERO

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Thanks for waiting for me to get this ready! If you haven't, please check the previous chapter to see the Intro. It's really a prologue in disguise.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Tell me your thoughts in the comments! ♡

NERO COLLAPSED ONTO THE ground with a loud groan. Following him with similair sounds, Dante landed on his face with the unusual crunch of bone; Vergil landed lightly on one knee behind both of them and sealed the portal shut with a shaky hand.

"The hell was that?" Dante rolled to his feet in one smooth movement and stared back at the place where the portal had been moments ago. "Is it just me or was that not a plain old demon?"

"They're the Fallen," Vergil explained. He sheathed Yamato with a silent screech, out of breath; he remained on one knee as he glanced back at the closed portal. "Mundus never had an easy time with them, from what little I remember. They frequented the lower levels of hell and largely kept out of the messes that the other demons created. I'm sure you know most of the mythology."

"Not really," Dante shrugged. When Vergil fixed him with a tiny glare, he turned his head. "Hey, not all of us are walking dictionaries, okay? Now explain what these Fallen are."

"It was strong," Nero coughed. He rubbed his ribs, where the Fallen had slammed its palm hard enough to break bone. "Is that normal?"

"No," Vergil said and rose to stand. "That was one of the weaker forms─a Fallen cherubim."

"You're kidding!" Dante barked out a laugh. "Cherub? The little flying dudes? Babies with wings? Come on now, Verge─"

"This is no laughing matter," Vergil snapped. "The Fallen are angels who have fallen from their places in heaven. They're the ones who followed the first demon king and helped establish hell itself; but when the crowns changed, they retreated to the lower bowels of hell, and faded into obscurity. Mundus never bothered them if he could help it. Neither did I, either, in my brief interim as king..."

"Can they be killed?"

"Not that I know of. They retain the immortality they were gifted with at their creation. There are Nephilim somewhere in the world, but... We would be hard pressed to find even one of them. They are protected fiercely by their mothers."

"What do ya mean 'mothers'?"

"All Fallen are female," Vergil explained grudgingly. "If we found one, we would have a difficult time getting past her."

Nero hopped to his feet. "I'm sure this can wait until later, right? I need to get back to Kyrie and... Kyrie."

Vergil narrowed his eyes at him, but instead of opposing him, nodded only slightly. It was the barest of acknowledgements. "Of course."

"Now, where's the nearest pizza parlor? Because I'm starving─"

A payphone ringing broke the conversation. No one was likely to answer the phone except for one of them. Dante was unlikely and Vergil wouldn't know the first thing about niceties, so Nero answered it, holding the phone up to his ear.

"Hello─?"

"Nero!"

"Nico? How'd you even know where to call?"

"Not important! We have a situation that requires uh... Delicacy? Is that the right word? Whatever, what's important is that your mom blacked out again and she's in the hospital. It's pretty bad..."

"What do you mean she's in the hospital?" Nero demanded hotly.

"Urgh... You'll just have to come here! But Nero, don't get angry at her, okay? She's... not... exactly the same. And don't stare!"

"Nico!" Nero shouted. "Shut up! Is she alright?"

"Oh yeah, she's fine," she answered flippantly. "If you count popping the joints of her thumbs out of place to escape her handcuffs and running out of her room naked to be fine. She's pretty pissed at Dante, so maybe don't bring him..."

Behind him, he heard Dante mutter a soft,"Shit."

"Crap, gotta go! Boss lady's lunch is here. Get here whenever you can!"

After Nico hung up in his face, Nero turned around to look at his father and uncle. Dante looked like he had just swallowed a lemon and Vergil seemed mildly curious, but didn't say anything to him about it.

"You know I love [Name] like a sister," Dante began,"but I really don't want to face her while she's angry─"

"If she's mad at anyone, it should be me," Nero replied. "But that's not important. V... Vergil, can you use the Yamato to take us to─?"

"I'm afraid I don't know this world," he cut him off. "Dante would have an easier time doing it than I would."

"Is that permission to use the Yamato?" Dante asked teasingly.

"No." Vergil withdrew the Yamato and offered it to Nero, handle first. "Here. I expect it back."

"Thank you." Nero took the sword and swept it through the air as he had seen Vergil do. It opened up, shimmering and dark. He handed the weapon back and jumped through the portal, unaware of the brothers following after him.

Arriving in the middle of a hospital was like stepping into a sauna of sanitizers. Almost immediately he could hear Dante sneezing behind them; Vergil merely coughed into his hand.

Nero, used to the smell, walked on, looking for Nico around every corner. He finally found her standing in front of the door, rubbing her arm uncomfortably.

"Nico! Wanna tell me what's going on?"

"Good, you're here," she sighed in relief. Then, she caught sight of Dante and Vergil behind him, the both of them squinting at her. "Oh boy. Prepare your pants, Dante, 'cause you'll need a new pair after this. But first..."

She opened the hospital door with a creak. Inside, he could just barely make out the wiggling toes of his mother's feet as she flicked through the channels on the cheap television set. His stomach flipped when he caught the scent of sickness and blood wafting from her bed.

"Don't stare," Nico repeated her earlier words and shoved him inside.

He stumbled past the threshold with a grunt, intending to turn back around and find the doctor in charge, when he locked eyes with his mother. She had a fork midway to her mouth, loaded with roast beef, a remote in the other, and looked like a red alien with how broken out she was.

"Nero?" she sputtered.

"Mom?" he repeated in the same tone. "What happened to you? Why are you here?"

Suddenly, she scowled. "Nico..."

"Sorry, Ms. [Nero]! He had a right to know!"

"It's nothing," she shook her head and put down the fork. She turned off the television and set the remote aside. "Really. You shouldn't have rushed back here so fast."

"Doesn't matter, took a portal," he said quickly. He sat down in the chair by her bed and took her hand in his. That was probably the wrong thing to do because instead of metal, all she felt was the flesh of two hands. "Now what happ─"

"Nero!" she shrieked. She whipped his hand up to her face, staring at his finger in wide disbelief, shaking it furiously. "When the hell did you grow an arm?!"

Nero stared at her. His eyes were wide and she clamped her mouth shut. Normally she was a very reserved woman, but on medicine, she was a completely different person.

Dante barged in, a giant smile on his face. "Surprised, aren't ya? I was too. The powers of a devil trigger. Nice to see you, [Name]."

Nero wasn't surprised when she fixed the man with a glare strong enough to make his uncle hesitate. Then a remote was being flung his way; he sidestepped just in time for it to hit Vergil right in the chest.

"Ho boy, get a load of this," Nico lamented. "Better have a nurse on standby."

What happened when his mother's eyes landed on his father was not what he expected. The deep, primal fury that was in her voice as she spoke was not something he expected her to level out on a stranger, especially since he'd told her nothing about him.

Fuck.


	3. COVID-19 UPDATE

Hello everyone! I just wanted to pop in for a moment to send everyone my best wishes as the coronavirus spreads through the U.S. I hope that any readers who may be in other countries are doing well and that everyone stays safe during this time. Remember to wash your hands, sanitize if you can, and avoid touching your face! While sanitizer may not seem important, it can kill up to 99.99% of germs (if your sanitizer is 85%, then sanitize twice to boost it to 98.07%!)

While the coronavirus is still somewhat low in cases in my state, that I know of, I'll have two weeks off from school starting next Wednesday to limit the spread. The flu is also going around here, especially. So far there are 98 cases of the flu in one district alone.

That said, expect some more updates in the next two weeks or so! ♡

Stay safe!


	4. II: FAMILY SCUFFLES

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the long wait! Please forgive me! ♡ I just haven't had inspo for this since COVID started. I write for other things, like Sekiro and KH, if you'd like to read some of those to pass the time.
> 
> Thank you for 1K views and 78 kudos! It really means a lot to me that people enjoy it!
> 
> Tell me your thoughts down below!

[NAME] WAS UP AND out of the bed before anyone could stop her. The tray of roast beef went clattering to the floor; the IV stand jerked with the movement, the morphine drip disconnecting; a cup of water went splashing over Nico's lap. The woman was bypassing Dante completely, shoving him aside hard enough that he actually stumbled, and socking Vergil so hard in the face that all of them heard the dislocation of his jaw.

"Mom!" Nero sputtered, crossing the room and hauling the woman back by her waist. Her elbow went straight into his sternum and all of the air left his lungs, leaving him little breath to croak,"Shit…"

"Hey, now, [Name], back off a bit," Dante darted in before she could hit Vergil again, groaning when her fist made contact with his stomach, just barely keeping a firm grip on her shoulder. "Damn, you… sure do pack a serious punch…"

As Vergil painstakingly popped his jaw back into place, [Name] glowered ferociously at him over Dante's leather clad shoulder, [color] eyes burning as bright as the sun with anger. Her fingers fisted in the red leather jacket, teeth bared in fury.

"You're the fuckwad who cut off Nero's arm." How she knew that, none of them could say; Dante would have easily chalked it up to some nasty maternal instincts if it kept her from ripping Vergil, a very unstable devil, a new one. But the fingers digging into his collarbone were starting to become a little painful, and no amount of human force could cause that much discomfort. "I should gut you where you stand."

"Mom, it's fine." Nero pried her hands from Dante's shoulders, pulling her back and making her sit down on the bed. "Here, let's put your IV back in and I'll explain everything一"

"I don't care about the IV," [Name] fumed, her face turning even redder, darkening the breakout she had already had from her medicine. She was shaking so hard that Nero felt shaken himself. "Explain. Now, before I gouge out his eyes and feed them to Edra."

Nico swallowed thickly. When Dante sent her a questioning glance, mouthing 'Edra?' she cleared her throat. "Edra is Ms. [Name]'s pet boa."

"Alright." Nero glanced over at Vergil, who stood very still in the door of the room, then sighed. "Well, it all started with this guy named V…"

As Nero told a very abbreviated version of the story, [Name] listened with rapt attention, her eyes narrowed and glued to the wall as she made the connections in her head. Every so often she would glance at Dante or Vergil when their names came up, more so glaring at Dante and absolutely wishing hellfire upon Vergil.

The devil at the tail end of her fury did not seem bothered by the wish of death the woman was sending his way. He was more concerned with the growing pain in his jaw bone and why it wasn't going away, or the way his devil was creeping up behind his awareness and peering through his eyes at Nero's supposed 'mother'.

She clearly wasn't his biological mother, that much was for certain. Vergil only vaguely recalled the features of his true mother, but as far as he was concerned, this woman was here and the other one was not. Nero certainly considered her as his mother and the devil within was antsy, keen on discovering just what his offspring's chosen mother was made of.

This woman had already proven that she had the strength to defend herself一a very unusual strength, powerful enough to harm him and move Dante out of her way. She had a temper, as well, one that spit fire and promised death to whoever was unlucky enough to earn it, which was, unfortunately, himself. She even dared to glare at him even as Nero spoke, flexing her fingers and looking as if she wanted to go a round and pummel him into the marble floor.

The more he pondered upon her existence, the more the devil butted in, interest turning into something more. His human side, V, was still uneasy, assimilating into a very delicate peace with the devil inside him, but any overwhelming emotion would drag him down and allow the beast to reveal itself. He wouldn't allow it to break the very fragile trust he had made with both Nero and Dante; it was so easily broken by the simplest things.

And then, just as Nero was wrapping up his story, holding the woman's hands firmly to keep her from bolting, he felt it一the barest, faintest rumble of inhuman energy that wasn't devil nor demon, but Fallen. A glance around the room indicated none of the rest of them had caught it, but it was diluted, weak; stronger than them, but far removed from what it could be.

What it had the potential to be.

He locked gazes with the woman on the hospital bed, saw the faint glimmer of other in her glower, and his devil bowed its head in reverence. The arrogant, barbaric Urizen, showing fealty to a human woman who felt Fallen? Ridiculous.

The devil hummed a thought that said otherwise and retreated briefly, still just at the surface, curiosity sated and initial wonderment forgotten. For now.

"So you're telling me he ate a fruit, became demon king, and is still king?" [Name] scowled when Nero had finished, her eyebrows drawing close. "And he isn't sitting in hell and ruling like he should be?"

It wasn't entitlement that he felt at her words; it was a thinly veiled insult, cleverly hidden in incredulousness. His devil rose again like a high tide, pushing at his control.

It liked this a bit too much.

"Don't worry about it." Dante waved his hand flippantly and took the other spare chair, leaving Vergil and Nico standing. "Someone else will come and take the throne and it'll be out of Verge's hands. Everything will be fine, little lady."

"Call me little lady again and I'll crush your balls in a vice," she said, her voice sour and tone acidic, but laced with promise. "Now, I'm tired, and quite frankly, I don't want to hear either of you, and I'm looking at you two devil twins, talk to me for at least a week."

"You heard the lady." Nico waved her hands lazily and began pushing them out the door, hesitating briefly when she got to Vergil. "Visitin' hours start at ten and end at two. Come back tomorrow."

Dante blinked when the door was shut in his face, effectively locking him out. "Well. That was… interesting. You alright, Verge?"

"Of course." He rubbed his jaw, still tender from the punch, and felt his devil coo at the thought. It was sickening. "Are you certain that this woman is human?"

"First off, her name is [Name]. She doesn't like being called anything other than her name." Dante held up one finger. "Two," he added another,"she is human, I think. I'm not one hundred percent sure. But she's the kiddo's mom, so I'm not going to doubt her motherly instincts when she's raised him for the years you were absent. And finally, she'll rip you to shreds before you could ever lay another hand on Nero, so I'd suggest treading on very light ground if you ever try to speak with her."

"You do realize that she doesn't want to speak with you either, don't you?"

"Nah, she'll give in after a few hours." Dante grinned. "She's never been able to resist the good ol' Dante charm."

"Or she just pities your efforts."

"Hey, not cool, Verge."

"I was being honest."

"We really, really need to work on your people skills."

"My people skills are fine," he replied defensively as Dante escorted him down the hospital hallway to the exit.

"My dearest brother, if cutting your own son's arm off was the first thing you did when you met him instead of just teaching him to release it, then you have a lot, and I mean a lot, to learn."

"That wasn't…"

"Nope! No excuses!"

"But…"

"Nuh-uh!"


	5. III: BLACKOUT

"I HATE HOSPITAL GOWNS. They're like itchy little blankets that never really cover you all the way." Nico watched, amused, as [Name] violently pulled on a pair of sweatpants, dislodging the carefully placed bandaids over the bruised needle holes in her arms. "Nico, can you throw me that shirt?"

"This one?" The gunsmith picked up a t-shirt that looked like it had once belonged to Nero at one point, but he had grown out of during one of his devilish growth spurts. It was stained with paint and bleach blotches.

"Yes, that one. Thank you." She poked her head through the opening, grimacing when the black wound on her stomach pulled against the cotton. It was baggy enough that she had enough breathing room, but anything was uncomfortably hot to her at the moment; even her bra, which she was being forced to go without. She attributed it to hot flashes from perimenopause and left it at that. "Alright. That should be everything… Nero and Dante picked everything else up, right?"

Over the past week or so she had been recuperating in the hospital after their return from hell, she had seen hide nor hair of either of the devil twins until today, and that had just been the Dante half of the set. While she wasn't overly concerned with Vergil's existence just yet, or keen on seeing him ever again, Nero seemed to have some sort of desire to learn everything he could about him… Discreetly, of course, something that he was never really able to perfect even as he grew up into an independent young man. Thus, it was Mama Nero's job to get that information for him, no matter how much she was loathing the idea of being in the same room as his biological father.

It didn't help that she was, as the old wives used to say, in a bit of a broody mood. Nero was her only chick in the proverbial nest, so to speak, and he had not quite flown the coop but was steadily getting there. The closer he got to complete independence from her, the more depressed and anxious she got, unable to take the thought of her child not needing her anymore. Of course, Nero would always need her, but now he had his father in the picture--his real one, one he shared blood and history with. How would she fit into all that?

So deeply entrenched in her thoughts, [Name] didn't even notice as she signed her own discharge papers and allowed Nico to escort her down to the Devil May Cry van that held all of her hospital goodies. She felt a little sulky as she climbed into the front seat, intent on sleeping the whole ride to her home, until she caught sight of an old, antique book sitting on the dashboard, seemingly abandoned.

"Hey, Nico?" [Name] picked up the book with curious hands, running her fingers over the giant golden embossed 'V' on the center of the cover. "What is this?"

Nico plopped into the driver's seat with a half lit cigarette. "Oh, that? It belonged to V… well, Vergil now, I guess. Nero says it's a book of poetry."

"Poetry, huh?" She raised an eyebrow, opening the book to page one. "As good a place to start as any, I suppose."

She spent the ride reading instead of sleeping, attempting to theorize her way into Vergil's head using comparisons to the book she held in her hands. Nico never said anything except for interesting remarks about the Qlipoth and all of the neat weapons she could have made with the vines if they hadn't vanished into hell.

By the time that Nico pulled into her home's driveway, she was somehow already hyper aware that one of the two devil twins was inside, accompanied by Nero--which one, she couldn't be certain, but she slapped the book closed and put it back on the dash. Her stomach wound itched uncomfortably as she hopped out of the van, noting the absence of Dante's motorcycle and the increasingly cool temperature of her yard as she drew closer to the door.

"Hey, Ms. Nero, wait up!'

[Name] ignored Nico's call and opened the door with her key, only to find it already unlocked and ajar. She pushed it open, irritated that her privacy had been intruded on by someone she didn't know, and made her way to the living room as silent as a mouse.

She could see Nero on one couch, Vergil on the other, both of them speaking in low tones that she could barely overhear, accompanied by some odd rumbling that she could only attribute to their devil sides. It sounded almost like purring, if you could call the sound of a diesel engine a purr.

"Nero? What is this?"

Vergjl wasn't surprised to hear the guarded hostility in her voice, nor was he taken aback by the sheer irritation she put off like a hot blanket. She stood just shy of the doorframe to the living area, keys in one hand and making a fist in the other, appearing immensely uncomfortable.

The devil within told him in simple terms that she didn't like her space being invaded. Even his human side agreed with the sentiment. He understood, well enough, that intruding was rude, and that this woman took the idea of privacy very seriously. He had a feeling that if Nero had not been there as a buffer, he would be suffering the consequences. His devil, unlike the time in the hospital, seemed to not like the fact that they had intruded without her permission in the first place. It had kept him on edge the entire time as Nero spoke with him.

However, being on edge helped, somewhat. The woman, [Name], grew antsy the longer it took Nero to get the words right, shuffling in place and eyeing the exits he had scoped out before sitting down. He was able to notice the slight tics of her hands, reaching for something that wasn't there--a sword?--or touching the wound he could just barely see through her shirt.

"I brought him here," Nero explained, holding his hands up in surrender. "I was waiting for you but Dante didn't trust him alone in the shop."

Vergil snorted lightly. "Undeservedly."

"You could have at least told me." [Name] bristled and he got another whiff of the Fallen essence then as her anger began to peak. "You know I don't like it when people just show up unannounced."

He quickly noted that that statement didn't apply to Nero.

"I'm sorry," the male apologized sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I wasn't even thinking. We can go--"

"No, no, you're already here." She shook her head and set her keys down on a table near her, giving Vergil a wide berth as she moved towards the kitchen. "I'm going to make some tea and head to bed. Nico's outside with my things; can you bring them inside please?"

"Sure thing, Mom." Nero got to his feet and with a look at Vergil, made the man follow him outside.

When she was sure she was alone, [Name] sank to her knees and pressed her forehead to the cold tile of the floor, letting out a deep shuddering breath when her stomach twisted painfully. The painkillers had numbed it somewhat, but now they were wearing off and she could feel the beginning waves of pain starting to surface.

And then, without warning, just like all of the other times, her vision went completely black.

When she woke up, all she could smell, see, taste, was blood.


End file.
